“Why Dan Savage Is Dead Wrong About Jill Stein And The Green Party” by Andrea Mérida Cuéllar, National Co-chair, Green Party of the United States July 21, 2016

Green Party and Bernie Supporters were SHOCKED by the IGNORANT AND INCORRECT SAVAGE COMMENTS by Dan Savage about the Green Party = Deluged With messages of outrage from fellow Greens from around the country.

FACT: Most true liberals and Greens considered Dan Savage an ally in many progressive causes. Most respect Savage’s activism through the “It Gets Better” project and its advocacy for LGBTQIA+ youth.

FACT: The Green Party runs candidates from dog catcher on up. and here are just a few of our currently seated elected officials around the country:

Bruce Delgado, mayor in Marina, CA Avito Miranda, school district trustee in Marin County, CA Hector Lopez, constable in New Canaan, CT Mirna Martinez, board of education, New London, CT Cam Gordon, city councilmember in Minneapolis, MN Becky Elder, city councilmember in Manitou Springs, CO Merrily Mazza, city councilmember in Lafayette, CO Some former elected officials include Michael Feinstein (mayor, Santa Monica, CA) and myself, Denver’s first Green-registered elected official (Board of Education, Denver, CO). + Even more names at our Green Party database.

FACT: The Green Party elected officials may not impress Dan Savage, but we each have way more skin in the electoral game than he has shown to date. + Green is running candidates for all levels of state and federal government including Dr. Margaret Flowers of Maryland, a fighter for single-payer healthcare and against the TPP and as the editor of PopularResistance.org. + In Colorado, we are proud to support our U.S. Senate candidate, Arn Menconi, a former elected county commissioner from Eagle County, CO.

FACT: Savage’s assertion we don’t run candidates in other tiers is incorrect, and perhaps he didn’t notice the 2014 campaigns for Congress, state representative, public utility district and charter review commission in Washington State.

SAVAGE IGNORANCE = Unaware of the incredible advantage the duopoly parties have in automatic ballot access.

SAVAGE IGNORANCE = Unaware of the massive injustice that third parties face.

FACT: Illinois = Requires a presidential candidate to win major-party status or NO FUTURE for the alternative party.

SAVAGE IGNORANCE: Presidential candidate must gather MASSIVE petition signatures to run any candidate as a Green (Plus extra 50% of buffer signatures to insulate against challenges):

FACT: A Green Party presidential candidate also carries the weight of a whole lot of other down-ticket races on her shoulders, by necessity, and must run huge ballot-access campaigns simultaneous to her presidential campaign. = Ralph Nader’s campaign manager has spelled it all out in harrowing detail = ANTI-DEMOCRATIC.

FACT: Jim Hightower documented that Ralph Nader’s campaign for president in 2000, pulled only 24,000 Democrats from Gore while 308,000 Democrats voted for Bush.” GORE lost to VOTER FRAUD + A CRIMINAL RUN SUPREME COURT + LOW VOTER TURNOUT — NOT NADER!

SAVAGE IGNORANCE = Gore lost his home state of Tennessee.

SAVAGE IGNORANCE = People who call the Green Party “spoiler” candidates = Usually people who believe Dem Party is entitled to votes without actually earning them. = Especially people of color + LGBTQIA+ community + Students + Others.

SAVAGE IGNORANCE = He expects all these voting GROUPS TO FALL IN LINE BEHIND THE LESSER EVIL = NO WAY = ESPECIALLY WHEN BOTH CANDIDATES ARE UNTRUSTWORTHY AND EVEN UNLIKEABLE AND SHOW CRIMINAL TENDENCIES!

SEATLE = Has shown REAL GUTS against the AIPAC MAFIA STATUS QUO by re-electing Kshama Sawant = Who massively supports Bernie Sanders’ agenda, including the fight for $15 an hour and the robust presence of #blacklivesmatter.

FACT: Those living outside of privileged circles know that voting for either lobe of the AIPAC corporate party(s) brings more of the same = Massive Usury Student Debt + Low-paying jobs + More Deportations + More Faked WARS BANKRUPTING THE MIDDLE CLASS + More Environmental Destruction + More Police Militarization + More waffling on the LGBTQIA+ community including the safety of trans youth of color.

FACT: DUAL PARTY = Democratic & Republican party HAVE FAILED AMERICANS BADLY in every way imaginable.

DEM PARTY = Offers NOTHING MORE THAN Rhetoric = BUT A HORRIBLE 40 YEAR TRACK RECORD OF DESTRUCTION OF THE MIDDLE CLASS AND POVERTY FOR ALMOST 50% of AMERICANS BELOW or NEAR THE POVERTY LINE.

SAVAGE IGNORANCE = Ignores the need for true unafraid progressives fighting for all of us against AIPAC MAFIA INTERESTS. = THE GREEN PARTY GOALS!

SAVAGE IGNORANCE = In Richmond, California, Gayle McLaughlin served two terms as a Green mayor and accomplished what no Democrat would ever dare: She held the local Chevron oil refinery accountable for violations and enraged big banks by saving residents facing foreclosure from eviction.

FACT: NO MORE AIPAC MAFIA DUAL PARTY that care ZERO about HUMANITY! = AMERICANS cannot wait FOR THE MAFIA to change their SPOTS and BECOME HONEST!

FACT: THE DUAL PARTY KILLS OFF THE GOOD ONES = Destroys the campaigns of Bernie Sanders + Rep. Dennis Kucinich + MORE DESTROYED for VIOLATING AIPAC MAFIA ORDERS.

TIME IS NOW: NO MORE MAFIA and The Green Party take matters into our own hands. = Time is RIPE FOR A STRONG THIRD PARTY THAT REPRESENTS THE AMERICAN PEOPLE’S HOPE AND DREAMS INSTEAD OF SOME FOREIGN MAFIA IN LONDON AND ISRAEL! GREEN PARTY IS POSITIONED AND READY! = Centers on people, peace and planet over profit and truly sees each person of color…each gender expression…each citizenship status…each socioeconomic level as equally worthy of enfranchisement.

GREEN = Believe democracy for all People to have a VOICE not only run for dog catcher but also go to the mat for a place on your ballot to do it. = Jill Stein is simply that NEW ALTERNATIVE TO AIPAC BANKSTER CONTROL.

SAVAGE IGNORANCE = CAMPAIGN WITH FACTS TO GET OUT YOUR OWN VOTERS AND STOP WHINING ABOUT THE GREEN PARTY! GORE LOST for many reasons but GREEN PARTY WAS NOT ONE! Gore campaign in 2000 ceded their base to anyone else.

SAVAGE IGNORANCE = Decries the Green Party for our supposed “Hail Mary pass of a presidential electoral campaign” = We Greens are FIGHTING FOR ALL 320 MILLION AMERICANS to TURN AROUND 40 YEARS OF GOP & DEM PARTY INCOMPETENCE ABD FRAUD CAUSING A DECAYING MIDDLE CLASS AND GROWING POVERTY!

SAVAGE IGNORANCE = Fails to recognize that the Green Party runs candidates all up and down the ballot all over the country + He ignores our work for 40 years in favor of HUMANITY OVER GREED AND WARMONGERING DOMINATION + We take ZERO CORPORATE OR $BILLIONAIRE MONEY.